Mr. William Leake (Will) Stirling, 97, of Greensboro, passed away on October 10, 2026.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 pm on Monday November 2, at Westover Church. The burial will follow at Guilford Memorial Park.

The family will be receiving friends at the church from 1:00 to 1:45 pm, prior to the service.

Will was born on March 12, 1929, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to the late Ruffin and Esther Stirling. He met his wife of 73 years, Bobbie Jean Crawford, while attending Louisiana State University. He went on to earn a PhD in nuclear physics and was employed by Oak Ridge (TN) National Laboratories in nuclear research from 1965 until his retirement in 1995. He literally was a rocket scientist, having once worked on Ronald Ragan’s “Star Wars” project to intercept nuclear missiles.

Will loved the Lord, his wife, his family, his friends and Bobbie’s cooking, in that order. He and Bobbie raised their three children to follow Jesus, who in turn have carried that into the third and fourth generations.

In addition to his parents, Will was preceded in death by his siblings, Esther Frier, Ruffin Stirling, Clare Blakly and Polly Root. He is survived by his wife, Bobbie Jean Crawford Stirling; children, Laurie Pittman (Ken), Mickey Stirling (Kristy) and Ruffin Stirling (Crystal); eleven grandchildren and twenty great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Westover Church Global Missions Fund, 505 Muirs Chapel Road, Greensboro, NC 27410.